Anticipated (Mis)use
RISD Thesis, 2021
Aangans (internal courtyards) in India are the direct expression of the socio- cultural values of the times and society; the courtyard form was a response to the social preference for privacy and seclusion in family life, distinct from the external world. The organization of space within traditional Indian households reflects the social relations between men and women, elders and young residing in them. My thesis set out to subvert the work of typology by enacting social and politial change through storytelling, thereby decolonizing the architectural representation.
Overview
Duration
9 months
Role
Solo Thesis Project
During the period of British Colonization in India, cultural identity became imperative to protect from the colonizers, the responsibility of which fell on women, the site of which became the private world of the home. Controlling women then became synonymous with the protection of the community, and the woman’s place in the home was solidified. The open air aangan thus became the illusion of escape for many women stuck inside their homes for extended periods - weeks and even months on end.
The roofscape being the only point of external interaction and another sense of the ‘outside’, became an emancipatory moment of the house for women during that period. A divide was normalised between the inside and outside based on gender - women typically occupying the ‘protected’ vertical axis and men occupying the horizontal axis, interacting with the context surrounding the home. This concept plays a role in what even today, in India, are the issues with women’s access to public space.
The curated neighborhood consists of a set of typologically varied aangans, each transformed with one gestural design move aiming to create a feminist post colonial imaginary. Space is not a given but constructed, and rather than simply be a passive backdrop for daily activities, my thesis attempted to transform it into an active participant in creating a new social order.
The Curated Neighborhood
Fictional narratives were created based on collected fantasies of current female residents of my neighborhood in Jaipur. Every fantasy collected entailed an aspect of independence and self sufficiency - a self serving economy, which is what this neighborhood represents. I illustrated each of my storytellers, as well as anybody who played a relevant part in making their fantasies come to life. Male figures do not look at the viewer, subverting the male gaze. This is a woman’s world with men as the supporting characters. They exist in harmony and contribute to the daily economy, but not run it.
The Characters and Process
Sited in Rajasthan, India, the house has two storeys and features an aangan and a chhat (terrace). The aangan welcomes an abundance of natural light that reduces the need for lighting fixtures in the common spaces of the home such as the entrance, living room and part of the kitchen. Typical furniture of such houses includes single user or multi user swings, charpais (traditional woven beds) and muddhas (woven stools).
The Buffet highlights a dabba service - women of the house running a catering business to feed the entire neighborhood nutritious meals. The Gyaanaangan is dedicated to educating neighborhood children. The Vitrine empowers the female gaze with the rug sewing business on display on all levels. The Milan creates a congregation space for everyone in the neighborhood to mingle, promiting harmony. I employed the use of the traditional scroll to depict the revisionist narratives. The drawing below allows for a privileged view of the neighborhood - one can witness the stories in both the aangan level as well as the roof level simultaneously. The aangans not only connect physically, but also interlink in their stories and motives.
